Come On, Light Me Up Anyway
by QueenOfQuiet17
Summary: Grace had been able to keep the events of last year's office Christmas party in the back of her mind. But when Karen asks her why they can't have another one, she can't stop thinking about what happened between them during their last get-together. She can't stop thinking about how badly she wants it to happen again. Inspired by "Jingle Balls."


_**"It's gonna blow up in my face  
But come on, light me up anyway…"  
-Adore Delano, "Dynamite"**_

 _Now_

It was cute, the way Grace expected her to just let it go. It wasn't like she was asking for much, but it was enough for the redhead to make it seem impossible, laughing in disbelief before she picked up on the sincerity: "Oh my god, you're serious? Of course not." She knew Grace thought that would be the end of it. But after four years of working together, Karen would have thought that she'd pick up on her determination; sure, she never put it to use for anything she was supposed to-work, for example-but now? Now, she wasn't going to rest until she was satisfied.

She looked over at Grace walking in step with her along Madison Avenue, trying to burrow further into the depths of her coat as she fought off the bitter chill of winter. She heard her sigh to fill the lull in conversation and watched it turn to frost when it hit the air. She brushed up against Grace as they moved, sometimes by accident, sometimes to see if it would elicit a reaction; she could see Grace try to look at her without letting her know she was looking at her. And she tried again.

"Honey, let's just do it. It's the holidays; we should celebrate! Come on," she said as she brushed up against Grace once more, "It'll be fun."

Grace lips twisted into a frown. "Karen, will you drop it?" she asked, lowering her voice as if the strangers passing them by cared at all about their game. "It's not going to happen." She studied Karen for a moment and wished she'd get rid of that scheming little smile. Most of the time, their back and forth was so benign that she had no problem handling it. But now, she knew Karen was fully aware that she hit a nerve. And now, she knew Karen was having far too much fun with it.

There were a million different directions they could wander off into, and Grace wasn't sure she was ready for any of them.

They had fallen into a comfortable silence once they made it inside the warmth of Barneys to visit Jack at his new job. Karen could see the relief start to wash over Grace's face, thinking the conversation had finally been dropped; once they were in the presence of another familiar face, it was bound to be forgotten. It was kind of amusing, really, how irritated Grace seemed to get over a silly little thing like this. It made Karen want to play. She dropped a step behind Grace, keeping her eyes on her as they navigated their way through a seemingly endless maze of clothing racks before they made it to Jack's department. She could see Grace looking around for him, distracted enough for Karen to go in for the kill. "Oh, come on, Grace," she said, playing up the disappointment. "Why can't we have an office Christmas party?"

The redhead startled and sighed before giving her a look that was stern and full of warning. "Last year's was a disaster. You got drunk, told me you loved me, and then kissed me in the service elevator." She saw Karen's smile turn into a full-on grin at the memory and cursed herself for ever opening the door that they swore they locked shut. It was only open a crack, but it was enough for Karen to barge right in and turn all the lights on. She started to fidget in her place and knew she had to move somewhere, anywhere, to give herself some sort of distraction.

Karen watched Grace gravitate towards a display of sweaters, running her fingers along the cashmere of one, making some quiet, rushed comment about still needing to find a Christmas gift for Will, and wouldn't this look wonderful on him? She scoffed to herself and shook her head. The audacity Grace had to just casually gloss over their good time like that; she wasn't going to get away that easily. Karen walked over to her, taking the sweater from the redhead's grasp when she reached her as if she cared in the slightest about what Will would like, and murmured, "I think you skipped over a few things, honey."

The speed at which Grace tensed up was stunning. "Did I?" she asked softly, careful not to look the dark haired woman in the eye. She snatched the sweater back from Karen and busied herself with folding it back up in just the right way. She hoped to god she wasn't blushing. And if she _was_ blushing, she hoped to god Karen couldn't see it through the curtain of her hair. She didn't want to give her the satisfaction.

Karen's voice curled around her words so playfully as she leaned in to the redhead's ear. "Oh, Gracie," she said, her gin-spiked breath making Grace weaken in spite of herself. "Don't tell me you forgot." God, how could she sound like she was pouting _and_ smirking at the same time? It was diabolical.

Grace cleared her throat to buy herself some time as she tried to rebuild some of her resolve. Because she remembered that night; of course she remembered. As long as she was in this world, she would never forget how Grace Adler Designs' first Christmas party turned out, though she tried, if only for her sanity. If she thought about it too much, it would only send her down a spiral she would never be able to climb back out of. But if Karen was going to keep at this, she wasn't sure how long she could resist. She barely made it this far without diving too deep into her own feelings. She wasn't sure she could last much longer.

There was no getting around it; that party shined a bright light on something she had banished to the darkest corner of her mind. Grace knew she was screwed from the start, taking this woman on as her assistant when she had absolutely no skills. But Karen contained something within her that couldn't be described and was entirely irresistible. She would push boundaries all the time, and Grace wouldn't fight to push them back into place. It was Karen's way; what was the use in fighting it? It was all in good fun, anyway. Karen was married. Grace was involved in relationship after relationship that she thought would actually go somewhere when she was in the thick of it. None of what they did meant anything. So what if there was a lingering touch here or there? So what if there was a look every now and then? So what if there was a kiss or two? Most of the time, it was easy to shake off the jolt she felt whenever Karen got close, whenever Karen arched her brow and let that half-smile out of its cage, whenever Karen leaned in and she could smell the gardenia and it went to her head before...

She worked so hard to not let it affect her-or at the very least, make it look like it didn't affect her. But how many times can you kiss your friend like that without it meaning something? How many times can you feel that jolt before you give up and succumb to it? How long do you have to live with something before you face up to it? It made her nervous. And now that the memory of last Christmas reared its head just as she was starting to get over it, it all became too much. Grace tried to shake it all away from her head. She couldn't think about it, couldn't let the chorus of what ifs start singing again at full volume. They still have to work together, for god's sake; there has to be a line.

She just didn't want to admit that the line was starting to blur.

"I didn't forget," she finally said, trying to maintain a sense of calm. She could hear her voice start to crack and wondered if Karen noticed. "It's just...I thought we agreed we'd never speak of it again."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Karen remembered the day after the party. She felt so light when she came in to work. The Christmas lights were still up, the liquor was still out. That feeling that took over the night was still in the air. And then she saw Grace coming out of the swatch room, looking like she hadn't slept all night. The redhead was hesitant to say anything out loud, no matter how much Karen tried to engage her. And when Grace finally did say something, she made the dark haired woman promise to never give a voice to what happened last night. No one needs to know. It never happened. And they go on, business as usual. Frankly, it hurt whatever feelings were still left inside of Karen.

Not that she was ever going to let that show.

She would do what she always did: plaster on a smile and act like nothing fazed her. But she would be lying if she said Grace didn't have the ability to rattle her from time to time. Karen never would have expected it from a woman who seemed to be so easily rattled by any number of things herself. The more time she spent inside that office, though, the less committed she felt to any semblance of an appropriate working relationship. The less committed she felt, the more she wanted to see what she could get away with. The more she got away with, the more she realized what Grace did to her. The more she realized what Grace did to her, the longer she wanted to play.

The longer she played, the more obvious it was that Grace liked the game, too.

Karen would have stopped if Grace sincerely asked her to; she respected the redhead's boundaries as much as she pushed them. She would have backed off if Grace pulled away, lightened up on those lingering touches if Grace flinched. But Grace always leaned in. Grace always responded. Grace seemed to like it as much as she did. And Karen could recall a couple of times when it was the redhead who would brush her fingers against her own, passing it off as handing over paperwork she knew Karen was never going to fax, or grabbing the messages Karen scribbled for her on scrap paper. She could recall times when Grace's heart was in her laugh as she read over those messages, the ones that never made any sense because Karen never paid attention to the person on the other end of the phone. She knew she wasn't imagining it. Four years was a long time to live with someone else's quirks; Grace seemed to understand hers better than anyone else she had come across in all the twists and turns of her life. Grace certainly embraced them better than anyone else.

But god forbid that it should ever get serious. God forbid that it should ever stop being a game. God forbid that Grace should ever be honest with herself and finally indulge in what she knew would make her happy.

Karen couldn't help herself; she could see Grace start to waver, those gears in the redhead's mind turning with possibility, and she knew she had her where she wanted her. She looked down at Grace's hand resting at her side, and gently started linking their fingers together. Was it her imagination, or did Grace give her a little squeeze? "But, honey...if we _were_ to speak of it again," she said in a hush, noticing the way Grace was watching the people surrounding them, "it wouldn't be so bad. Would it?"

Grace took a breath to respond, trying to choose her words carefully. Because she knew that it wouldn't be bad, if they were only words. You didn't always have to act on words. And it wouldn't be so bad if it happened again, at least not in the moment. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy herself last year. Hell, it might not even be so bad after. As long as Karen stuck around. As long as Karen kept the door open. As long as she could be sure that it wouldn't come back to bite her in the end; she could even hear Karen's response to that- _Oh, honey, you'd like that, wouldn't you?_ -and whipped around to face the dark haired woman to make sure it was only in her head. Karen stood there, silent, eyes expectant and hopeful, and in that moment, Grace wanted to give her what she was looking for. But before she could say anything, Jack came flying into view, waving a scarf around like he was trying to pull the redhead out of a trance before wrapping it around a mannequin's neck.

Karen absolutely adored him. But she absolutely despised his timing.

She saw Grace direct all her attention to him, trying to engage him in conversation, and tried to swallow her disappointment at having gotten so close, only to fall back to square one in a heartbeat. They had been toeing the line since they met, neck deep in the least professional relationship on earth. And the one time they finally crossed it, the redhead was ready to let any chance of something more die a swift death. It didn't make sense to Karen. She felt something. She knew Grace did, too. She was just waiting for her to give in already. It was only a matter of time before Grace ran out of places to hide from the inevitable; she only wished that time would hurry the hell up.

Besides...last year's Christmas party _did_ have its moments. As much as Grace said she wanted to forget about it, there was no way she could deny that.

* * *

 _Then_

It was crazy, the way Grace wanted everything to look perfect. She knew that. Two people didn't constitute a party to go all out for; she just wanted to shake up the routine a little bit, give Karen a legitimate reason to be drinking in the office. She strung a few lights around the windows and the desks. She found a small tabletop tree and the perfect spot on her desk to put it, once she cleared a few things. She knew Karen would kill her if she raided her stash of emergency liquor without asking first, so she pulled a few things from home: some wine, and a bottle of gin for good measure.

She had considered the half-empty bottle of tequila before she remembered the last time she drank that with Karen. The way it went down a little easier with each shot. The way it didn't seem to affect Karen at all. The way it made them swap clothes in the living room. The way she woke up on the couch with one of the dark haired woman's furs draped on top of her and the dark haired woman resting peacefully underneath her. The way it didn't scare her when she first realized where she was, who she was with. The way her nerves started to slowly sink in as she sobered up. She ended up shaking the memory from her head and leaving the bottle in the kitchen.

It wasn't going to be _that_ kind of party, anyway.

She could hear the click of Karen's heels outside the door as she went around the room plugging in all the lights, and rushed to make sure everything was shining before Karen walked into the office. She took in the festive sparkle for a moment. "Look at that! It's all lit up," she said with a smile as she turned to see her assistant pouring the contents of a flask down her throat.

"Look at that!" Karen exclaimed as she screwed the cap back on the flask and slipped it into the pocket of the coat she threw over the coat rack. "So am I." The dark haired woman swept her eyes across the length of the office and gave a small smile. The place did look nice; she had to give her that. She was just surprised that after three years of working together, the redhead chose now to have a little fun. "Grace, why are you even doing this? You're Jewish."

"Kare, it's the holidays. We should celebrate! What, you don't think it's going to be fun?"

Karen slid her fingers along the wine and gin bottles resting on her desk, keeping her eyes trained on them. "Sure, it'll be fun...in a grade school kind of way. You going to try to stuff that mane of yours into a Santa hat and sing me carols, too?" She smirked as she grabbed the gin and poured some into one of the glasses she kept by the phone. "That's all you got?" she asked, nodding towards the alcohol.

"Give me a break, it was all I could grab from home. Unless you wanted me to dig into whatever you've got behind your desk." Grace watched Karen's eyes grow wide with the threat of someone coming for her Stoli and she couldn't help but laugh. "I thought so," she said, beaming. "Come on, just give into it. When's the last time we did something like this, huh? No work, just the two of us?"

They let the question linger in the air for a moment before Grace realized the last time they did something like this was the reason she didn't take the Patron from the apartment. She could see the realization in Karen's eyes turn into something sly and calculating, and she tried to brace herself. But that was the thing about Karen: you could brace yourself all you wanted, but you could never be prepared for what she gives you. For all she knew, that night didn't mean the same things to Karen that it did to her. For all she knew, that night got lost in a haze that grew over two years and countless martinis.

"Yeah, you're right," Karen sighed. "It won't be the same, though. There's no tequila this time."

Shit. She _did_ remember.

"That was a good night," the dark haired woman continued. "You finally got to wear quality fabric. I finally got to see what wearing a bargain bin outfit felt like." She inched closer to Grace as she ran her finger around the rim of her glass. "And, you know, honey...you weren't the worst thing in the world to wake up to," she said with a gleam in her eyes. "Didn't you enjoy yourself?"

Grace choked back a nervous laugh. What kind of question was that? Of fucking course she enjoyed herself. But she'd never let herself admit it, at least not out loud. Nothing really even happened that night, but she couldn't stop her mind from going to the places she could have gone with Karen. And it didn't help that Karen's grasp on the concept of personal space was loose from time to time (okay...most of the time). It was already getting harder and harder to control that part of her thoughts; she didn't need a trip down Memory Lane to make it impossible. She opened her mouth to try to put a stop to it, but before she could, the dark haired woman gasped in realization.

"That's it! That's what this party needs!" Karen exclaimed, jolting Grace back into reality. The redhead watched Karen race to her coat and throw it on before making her way towards the service elevator. "Isn't there a liquor store a few blocks away?"

"What?! We don't need tequila!" Or, more specifically, Grace didn't need another one of those girls nights to add to the tally, even though she'd be lying if she said she didn't want it. It was hard enough to keep the last one in the past. She didn't need to open that door again.

Karen grabbed her purse and pushed the call button for the elevator. "Speak for yourself, honey." Of course she wasn't going to listen. Not when she knew exactly what she was doing.

"Dammit, Karen!" Grace muttered. She didn't want to get into her reasons for vetoing the tequila run. But she knew the look Karen got whenever she set her mind to something, and she got a glimpse of it when Karen looked over her shoulder and grinned. She walked over to the elevator and grabbed Karen's arm, trying not to pay attention to the spark she felt when she did it. "Just stay here. We'll work with what we've got."

The dark haired woman's eyes shined when the elevator door opened. "Too late!" she smirked as she slipped in and pressed a button. The redhead went in after her, pushed the button to open the door every time Karen pushed the button that would close it. After a few moments of back and forth, Karen blocked the buttons with her body until the door was completely shut. Grace sighed and rolled her eyes as Karen basked in her victory. Well. At least Grace would have the walk to the liquor store to figure out a plan B. She waited for the elevator to begin its descent.

Nothing happened.

Karen furrowed her brow while she kept pressing the button for the ground floor. "What's this? What's happening? Why aren't we moving?"

"Try opening the door," Grace said, trying to keep her cool despite the sinking feeling she had. She watched the dark haired woman press another button once, then a few more times, to no avail. She made Karen move out of the way and let her have a try, as if Karen wasn't doing it right the first time. "You've got to be kidding me," she groaned under her breath.

"Well, it looks like you got your wish," Karen laughed as she took off her coat and sat down in the back corner of the elevator. "I guess I'm not going to the liquor store tonight." The way she said it like it was simply a change of plans and nothing more was incredible.

If anything, it pushed Grace closer to the edge.

"Hey!" the redhead shouted. "Is anybody here?" She started banging on the elevator walls, making any kind of noise she could in the hopes that someone on another floor could hear her.

Karen winced as Grace's chaos bounced off the walls. "Grace? Sweetie? Turn it down a couple notches, will you?" She sighed. "The one time I forget to refill the flask..." she murmured as she looked longingly through the wooden slats of the elevator door to the gin resting on her desk.

"How are you so calm right now?" Grace asked, exasperated, pacing around what little space she had. "We can't even call anyone for help, we could be stuck here all night!"

"Honey, relax. It's not a big deal. Here, use this." Karen slid her skirt of her dress up to her thigh while Grace tried not to make it too obvious that her eyes were following its journey up her leg. The dark haired woman pulled a cell phone out of her garter and passed it on to the redhead.

"You have a garter phone?" Grace asked as she took it and started dialing. _She wears a garter?_ she thought as she wondered why it made butterflies flutter around in her core. As she talked to the building manager on the other end of the phone, she couldn't help but notice that Karen never pulled her skirt back down. More than that, she couldn't help but notice that Karen was staring up at her, that smugly satisfied smile sitting pretty on her face when she caught Grace looking. It was like she wanted Grace to look. It was like she wanted her to try something, like if they were going to be here for a while, they might as well make the most of it. Maybe pick up where they left off during that tequila-fueled girls night. Maybe slip down to Karen's level and see what happens when she brushes her leg against the dark haired woman's. Maybe pull her closer and dare her to press her lips against her skin. Maybe...

Jesus. Pull yourself together, Grace. Who knows how long you'll be trapped in here?

"They're going to send somebody to fix it, but they can't guarantee when they'll get here," she said as she handed the phone back to Karen. "Not exactly how I wanted tonight to go."

"Honey, I'm sorry your party is a bust. But much like _your_ small bust, it's just something you have to live with," the dark haired woman joked.

The redhead glared down at her. "Why do you do that? Why do you _always_ go to the snarky place? My hair is too big, my chest is too small, I look like I pick my outfits out of the lost and found. And that was just tonight!"

"Lost and found? I never said that! But that's good, I might use it later." Karen giggled to herself over the new addition to her arsenal.

Grace slid down the length of the wall opposite Karen and sighed as she hit the floor. "You know, you'd think that after three years, you would cut me a little slack."

The look in her eye made Karen soften. God, she looked so...defeated. What was the big deal? They were just doing what they always did. She was waiting for Grace to swing back at her with some jab about her work ethic, or how she was practically glued to her martini glass. It was all in good fun; they were surface wounds that never really hurt. At least, she always thought they didn't. Now, looking at Grace's frustrated manner, she felt bad enough to wonder at what point in their friendship this stopped being fun for the redhead. "Oh, come on, honey, you know I never mean it," she said, sincerity rooting her words to the ground.

"Do I?"

"Of course! We're only playing, aren't we?" The look in Grace's eyes let her know that they weren't. "Gracie, I care about you." She made her way across the elevator and knelt beside the redhead. When she reached for Grace's hand, Karen felt her tense up for a moment before she relaxed into the dark haired woman's touch. "Listen, honey...you know I'm not so good with the touchy-feely stuff, but I _do_ care about you. I may not make it as obvious as I should, but I do. I love you."

Grace trained her eyes on their fingers intertwined as she felt those butterflies again. She couldn't possibly have meant it in _that_ way. But then again... "I just don't know how to act around you sometimes. One minute, you're poking fun at me, and the next, you're brushing up against me and pulling up your skirt and trying to recreate some of our more...intimate moments." She shook her head. "If this is a game, I'm not sure I want to play anymore."

"Honey, look at me." Karen stayed silent until the Grace's eyes met hers. "The hair and the chest and the lost and found? That's all a game. But this?" She let her free hand brush a lock of Grace's hair behind her ear before her fingers danced along Grace's jawline. "This isn't. And this?" She pressed a kiss onto Grace's neck that made the redhead's heart kick into overdrive. "It's not what happens when I joke around."

Grace could smell Karen's perfume and feel Karen's kiss even after her lips left her skin. She found it hard to speak. She found it hard to think about anything other than the woman whose breath was tickling her neck. It would be so easy to dive in, to actually let herself feel the things she always tried to suppress. Slowly, she let her fingers travel the length of Karen's arm and tried to bite down on her smile when she heard the dark haired woman sigh to her touch as it moved along her collarbone. Karen's sigh turned into a small moan as Grace detoured towards her breasts, spilling out of her dress like she meant for this to happen all along, and Grace knew that she was done for. If she had a clearer head, she would have been able to talk herself out of this, thinking about how disastrous the aftermath could be. But Karen clouded her mind entirely. And she had to admit, she liked it.

"I thought," she finally whispered, relaxing into Karen's body, "you never said that stuff about the lost and found."

Karen's laugh was surprisingly deep, and she felt Grace take a breath to steady herself. "I told you," she murmured, leaning in as close as she could get. "I'm saving it for later." She wasn't always sure about Grace; there were just as many instances when she responded to Karen's touch as there were instances when she closed herself off. This sure as hell felt like the green light, but Karen didn't want to scare her, especially when they were confined to such a small space; slowly, she started testing the waters. She gently planted her kiss just below Grace's ear, and Grace didn't flinch. She kissed her way to the corner of Grace's lips, and Grace slid her fingers through Karen's hair, guiding her along the way. She connected with Grace's lips, parted like an invitation, smiling into her mouth as she felt Grace wrap her arms around her, pulling the dark haired woman on top of her. God, the way Grace kept pressing her body against Karen's was like she was holding a lit match over kerosene, and her hold kept slipping.

So much for simply testing the waters.

When Karen pulled away to catch her breath, Grace followed, desperate for the taste of her. Karen tilted her head so she was just out of reach, watching the spark in Grace's eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear the words.

" _Fuck_ , Karen…" Grace answered, nearly breathless already. "If you don't do something soon, I'm going to lose my mind."

Well. She wasn't about to let that happen. Not when she can get Grace to lose her mind the _right_ way.

Karen plunged her lips hungrily into Grace's as her fingers fluttered around the buttons of the redhead's blouse, swiftly undoing each one. Her tongue caressed Grace's as she slid the blouse off her shoulders and let her fingers walk Grace's spine until she got to the clasp of her bra. Karen felt Grace's leg traveling to her thigh and nearly lost her train of thought as Grace's tongue started to explore. It took Karen by surprise; for all the times Grace tried to dismiss whatever this thing was between them, she never expected her to unleash herself so quickly. But she heard Grace thrill as she unhooked her bra, felt her tug on her lower lip as they kissed, and it made her clit throb to know that she was the one who could bring Grace to life.

As she tossed the bra to the other side of the elevator, Karen left a trail of kisses down her throat, feeling Grace's "Mmmm" vibrate against her lips. She hovered over Grace for a moment, wanting to take the bareness of her in, and in doing so instantly regretted everything she ever said in jest about the redhead's breasts. "They're fucking beautiful," she murmured, not realizing she said it out loud.

Grace let a smile play across her face that settled somewhere between gratitude and I told you so. "That'll teach you to be so quick to judge," she said, her voice growing huskier with each syllable. She lingered in her smugness until the charge of Karen's tongue circling her nipple made her throw her head back in a gasp. She couldn't remember the last time someone had cared to go there; most of the men she had dated in recent memory were more concerned with their own satisfaction than they were with hers. But Karen...god, Karen fucking _cared;_ that surprised her more than anything. Karen knew how to control the waves of pressure as her tongue danced for her. Karen knew to let her fingers wander over to her other breast, to brush them over her nipple, to switch off without her lips ever leaving her skin, to stimulate every inch of her that she possibly could at one time. Karen reacted to her gasps and her moans like she felt just as much of that frenzy growing inside her as Grace did, even though they had just barely begun. She always had a feeling that crossing this line with the dark haired woman would mark a point of no return, regardless of whether or not that was a good thing.

She just never expected Karen to be so generous while they crossed it.

"You like that, don't you, honey?" Karen murmured as she lifted her lips from Grace's skin. The redhead could only manage a slight nod, but it was enough to make the dark haired woman smile slyly before offering a gentle but firm, "Touch yourself for me." Grace couldn't say no to her even if she wanted to; she started massaging her own breasts, sighing as Karen's mouth began traveling down her torso, planting kisses on her skin along the way. The dark haired woman undid the redhead's pants and discarded them in one swift motion. She hooked her fingers into the hips of Grace's panties-god, of course they were basic black and looked like they came out of a multipack, but it wasn't like she had to look at them for very long-and slowly started sliding them off, Grace's legs fidgeting with anticipation as she traveled the length of them. Karen kissed her way up Grace's thigh, taking her time, reveling in Grace's undulations beneath her, the redhead moving her hips as though she could reach Karen's tongue sooner if she just twisted herself the right way. It had been so long since Karen was able to make someone move like this-when the hell was her sex life with Stan ever anything to write home about?-she almost forgot how ridiculously satisfying it was to have someone twist for her, to hear someone moan because of her.

She lifted her head for a moment to catch a glimpse of Grace in her euphoric state. She watched Grace-biting down on her lower lip, eyes closed like she was trying to commit all of this to memory-and couldn't help but smile. It was insane how beautiful she was when she was like this. Karen could get used to it. And considering the way Grace responded to her touch, she suspected the redhead could get used to it, too.

Karen felt Grace try to steady her legs the second she started winding her fingers through the curls between them and discovered how wet she already was. She smiled as she lowered her head and let her fingers walk along the redhead's stomach; it was kind of endearing that Grace thought she could prepare herself. Karen started teasing her tongue along her folds and heard Grace's drawn out "Oh my _god"_ reverberate against the elevator walls. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Grace's legs start to give and her effort to keep them planted to the ground, and she ran her fingers along Grace's thighs, feeling a rush as the redhead trembled beneath her touch.

But the rush was nothing compared to the sheer exhilaration Karen felt from Grace's tremble turning into a full-on quake when her mouth enveloped her, when her tongue swept along her clit.

Grace arched her back and cried out, grasping onto one of the wooden slats of the door for support. She felt circles being drawn on her clit, the ebb and flow of pressure from Karen's tongue, and tried to call out the dark haired woman's name. But every time she tried, Karen would move her tongue in a way that obliterated her vocabulary and reduced her to moans that grew louder and louder with each wave that surged through her core. She felt Karen explore-oh, sweet Jesus, did she _seriously_ just draw a "G?"-and knew how close she was to letting go of any composure she still had left. "Oh, _fuck_ me…" she managed to exclaim inside a gasp.

Karen kissed the inside of Grace's thigh. "That's what I'm doing, honey," she said slyly. She started flicking her tongue more rapidly against the redhead's clit, sliding two fingers inside of her, taking an immense amount of pleasure in the wildness of Grace's legs kicking out on either side of her. Grace's panting matched the rhythm of Karen's strokes for a few beats before the redhead's walls clenched around the dark haired woman's fingers, the cries of her orgasm echoing through the elevator. She fell limp, her chest heaving as she tried to collect her breath, and Karen couldn't help but smile as she rested her hands on the redhead's thighs.

It turned out that she didn't mind Grace's chaos bouncing off the walls so much when it was this kind of chaos.

Grace drew Karen up to her level and kissed her as deep as she possibly could. The taste of her own body blended with Karen's in the most intoxicating way; even Karen had to admit that it was more intoxicating than any Tanqueray she ever tasted. The dark haired woman pulled away to slowly travel down the redhead's body once again. "Just so you know," Grace managed in between breaths, working her fingers through Karen's hair as the dark haired woman settled her lips against her chest, "I _greatly_ appreciate this newfound work ethic."

Karen lifted her head from between Grace's breasts and saw the redhead furrow her brow and heard her murmur "Where are you going?" After everything that came before this moment, after _I just don't know how to act around you sometimes_ and _If this is a game, I'm not sure I want to play anymore,_ Grace seriously wanted to do this now? She arched her brow and started to pull back from her in a tease. "Well, honey, if you're going to be like _that…_ " she trailed off, letting her eyes wander away from the sight of the gorgeously ravished redhead beneath her.

Grace's mouth dropped open, stunned for a moment, before she saw the mischievous smirk growing on Karen's face and realized she could fight fire with fire. She had to admit, the game was a lot more fun when she knew they were both playing the same one. She never knew it could be like this, where she could forget about all of the things that made her so nervous in the first place, where she could feel so invigorated and emboldened by someone. Where she could dare to give Karen everything she had just been given. She couldn't believe it was the dark haired woman who could do this to her, but at the same time, it made so much sense to her that the woman with no boundaries would be the one to show her how fun it could be to cross the line and never look back.

Tonight, she was going to play. Tonight, she was going to go all in.

She wrapped her legs around Karen's waist and pulled her back into her. She felt the dark haired woman's warmth radiating as she brought her lips to an inch of Karen's. "You know what I want to be?" she purred. "I want to be the one to light you up." She reached for Karen's mouth, only to have the dark haired woman pull away with that damn smirk looking brighter than ever. She took Karen's hand and kissed her fingertips, letting them linger on her lips. "I want to touch you." She caught Karen's lips as she guided her fingers up her thigh and brushed against the garter, the butterflies from before now raging so hard, for a second she was completely convinced that she would come again just from that. "I want to feel you." Her kiss traveled down the inches of Karen's skin that were already exposed, her tongue riding the line between her breasts and her dress. "I want to feel all of you." Her hands reached around Karen's back as she fumbled for the zipper, pulling at the fabric with urgency in her touch.

"Easy, honey, easy," Karen warned with that disarming half-smile as she led Grace's hand to the zipper. "This is Chanel." Grace unzipped her and slid the dress off her body, tossing it to the side as she moved to hover over Karen. As soon as the dark haired woman tore off her bra, Grace let her fingers travel the curve of Karen's breasts, brush against her ribs, slide down to her hips, and she heard her sigh with every turn. She moved her head towards Karen's thigh and grabbed the garter by her teeth, sliding it off her leg before coming back for her panties. She could feel Karen's wetness on them as she took them off and couldn't help but smirk. It figured that Karen got off on control. But the fact that it was Grace's arousal that turned her on gave the redhead a sense of pride. The person who never seemed fazed by anything was shaken by the person who was fazed by everything.

She was the one who made Karen Walker wet. She was the one who was about to make Karen Walker come. And it felt incredibly empowering.

Grace slid Karen's clit between her fingertips and heard her choked off moan fill the place; how could something Karen knew was coming surprise her so much? She felt the dark haired woman grasping for her, her perfectly manicured nails scratching her skin and sending shivers through her spine. It almost threw her off her game, the way Karen could still touch her like that when all she wanted was to elicit the same reaction out of Karen. She tried to collect herself as Karen started breathlessly calling her name, and realized she wanted her name to sound like that every time she heard it. She wrapped her lips around Karen's nipple, hearing her moan "Oh _god,_ honey, _yes"_ when her teeth grazed it. Karen's hips bucked against Grace's palm when she felt the redhead slip inside her, syncing with the rhythm of her fingers, moaning " _Fuck,_ don't stop" over and over like she was gasping out a prayer. Grace smiled against her breast and knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself.

She had to see the way Karen looked right now.

Grace lifted her head from the dark haired woman's breast to find her pale skin blushed and her features twisted in ecstasy. Karen's mouth formed a perfect "O" as she gasped, her eyes closed for a moment, riding out the wave before they fluttered open and connected with Grace's. The redhead smiled-whether out of pleasure from seeing Karen like this, or pride in herself for making her act like this, Karen couldn't be sure-and watched as the dark haired woman tried to match it before getting caught up in the charge surging through her core. She knew she would never see anything better than this.

Suddenly, Karen wrapped her arms around Grace's torso and threw her head back. Her cries rose as she came and fell when she buried her face in the redhead's shoulder. She clung to Grace for a moment, tightening her hold when she felt Grace's arms slide around her waist. When she lifted her head, she locked eyes with Grace and couldn't believe how full her heart was of this woman. She wondered if it was just the afterglow. She hoped that it wasn't. She rested her back against the elevator wall, pulling Grace in with her. "I thought you were mad that your party bombed," she smirked.

The redhead studied her for a moment before settling her body against the dark haired woman's. "I thought _you_ weren't so good with the touchy-feely stuff," she teased, slowly walking her fingers along Karen's shoulder.

"Words are overrated." Karen pressed a kiss to her cheek, ran her fingers through her hair. "This is what counts." She cocked her head and let her voice slip into its lowest register. "Aren't you glad I tried to go out for tequila?"

Grace laughed as Karen's lips caught hers. "I don't know. This could have happened anyway. And the swatch room would have been a lot more comfortable...or the desk..."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time."

Grace couldn't contain the smile that broke out across her face. "There's going to be a next time." A statement, not a question. There _was_ going to be a next time. She was sure of it. She wanted to feel this way as often as she possibly could. She wished they would have gone further during that fated girls night, so that she could have felt this way for the two years that had passed. They had wasted so much time dancing around the subject-and she knew a lot of that was because of her own reservations-and she couldn't believe how stupid they were to wait until now to give in.

They stayed there for a moment, nestled into each other, before it felt like they were being jostled around even though they hadn't left each other's skin. In Grace's hazy state, she marveled at the fact that they could make the earth move like that. But how could she feel the earth move like that? They weren't even close to the ground. And Grace could swear she heard a faint mechanical whirr start to seep into their space, almost as if...

Oh. So it wasn't the earth that was moving. It was just the elevator.

 _Oh._ No.

"Shit!" In an instant, Grace's new outlook disappeared as she snapped back to reality and realized that if they didn't hurry, in a few floors they would be greeting the elevator repairman completely naked. She sprang back from Karen and scrambled to slip back into her pants and throw her blouse over her shoulders. She kept fumbling with the buttons and was pretty sure she missed one, but at least she was clothed. She grabbed her bra and panties from the floor-she knew she'd only be half dressed when they got to the ground floor if she wasted her time putting them on-and shoved them into Karen's purse. The dark haired woman started cackling at the sight, laughing even harder once she saw the wide-eyed shock on Grace's face. "It's not funny!" the redhead shouted. "I don't know where else to put them!" She looked at Karen's clothes strewn along the elevator floor and groaned. "God, will you get dressed? We're running out of time!"

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Karen tried to slow her laughter. "Oh, Gracie, lighten up. It's not like he's going to catch us with my head between your legs." She slid into her dress and turned her back towards the redhead. "Come on, zip me up." When she felt Grace at her back, she toyed with the idea of telling her that it would have taken some time to fix the elevator, during which the repairman could have heard a good portion of their time together. But she didn't want to make it worse. She watched Grace get up from the floor and reached out for her hands to help her as she stood up. She saw how tense the redhead had become and couldn't reconcile this version of her with the version that had been crying out for her one moment, and thrilling her the next. "See? We're dressed. Everything's fine," she said softly, hoping to calm the redhead.

She could have sworn she saw Grace wince instead. She tried to tell herself she was imagining things.

The elevator door opened to reveal a wide-eyed repairman. The three of them stood frozen for a moment, none of them wanting to be the first to acknowledge anything. Karen had a hard time biting down her smile, waiting for someone to say something, to move, to speed this up a little. It wasn't until she let her hand graze the small of Grace's back that the redhead took the initiative and hurried out of the service elevator.

Grace avoided eye contact with the repairman as she bolted out of the building. It was December, and her coat was in the office, but she didn't care; she was not about to go back in there now. God, what if this gets out? What if Karen tells Jack? And then of course Jack's going to tell Will. And of course Will's going to badger her for details and ask her what the hell she was thinking. What _was_ she thinking? How the hell was she going to explain herself?

She couldn't, at least not well enough to make someone like Will understand. Wasn't that part of the reason why she was so resistant to this in the first place?

"Well, thank you, Repairman," Karen chirped as she sauntered towards the building's exit, pulling a twenty out of her purse for the man's troubles. Her fingers had brushed against Grace's panties as she went for her wallet, and she had made a mental note to invest in a few decent pairs for the redhead. Lace, maybe. Nothing that would come from a multipack. "But next time, give us a few extra minutes, would you?" She hummed as she walked out of the building, clutching the bra and panties inside her purse, and waited until the door closed to call out, "Gracie? I believe I have some things of yours." When she didn't get a response, she furrowed her brow and took in her surroundings. "Grace?" She looked up and down the sidewalk for her, coming up empty every time she turned her head. Her heart sank; she couldn't believe it.

The redhead had disappeared from Lafayette Street.

* * *

 _Now_

It was infuriating, the way everything wanted to pull Grace apart at the seams. She knew Will was just waiting for her to hate his new dancer boyfriend so he could have an excuse to break up with him; and when she couldn't deliver, she knew he would start to take it out on her. How was it her fault that Robert was so delightfully energetic?

Jack's mishap with the Barneys Christmas window certainly didn't help things, either. To have to save his disaster of a design at the last minute _after_ he stole the job out from under her was bad enough. It was the fact that her name wasn't even attached to what she knew was easily some of her best work that was a little hard to take.

And then there was the fact that she hadn't been able to stop thinking about Karen and last year's Christmas party.

Ever since the dark haired woman brought up the idea at Barneys, she hadn't been able to shake the nerves. And she knew Karen noticed. These last few days in the office, she could feel Karen's eyes on her, watching her move, trying to figure out what to say to make her feel better and coming up empty handed. Grace wished she had the words to make this better (or, at the very least, a little less awkward). But every time she tried to push through the memory of last year, her mind kept pulling her back to it. It felt like she was perpetually stuck in that morning after, running on no sleep and desperately trying to get back to the way things were before the elevator trapped them in such a small space with their overwhelmingly big desires. And she was frustrated. Frustrated with what this time of year was associated with now. Frustrated with Karen for bringing up feelings she told herself not to think about anymore. Frustrated with herself because she knew she would never stop thinking about them, never stop feeling them.

The hold that Karen Walker had on her was strong. It could make her follow her impulses. It could block out any common sense she thought she possessed. It could make her think the worst ideas were perfect, because Karen thought they were perfect. But maybe the worst ideas weren't that terrible after all. Because the worst ideas made her feel the best. The worst ideas were the most fun. The worst ideas kept her company, just like they were doing now as she was holed up in her room, trying to figure out what to do.

Grace rested on her bed, staring at the ceiling, refusing to move from her spot. She knew that if she was anywhere near Will right now, he would catch on immediately that something was up. She knew that she would have to try to explain herself, and she wasn't sure she could do that just yet. Instead, she closed the door to her own private space, lay her head against her pillow, and listened as the memories of all the ways Karen touched her made an extremely convincing argument for giving in. It was crazy how vivid that night still was in her mind. It made her chase that feeling again, whenever she started getting serious with someone new, only to get there and realize that it would never be as good as it was in that elevator. The memory made her clutch her sheets as though the dark haired woman was in her room, about to travel up her thighs and take her clit into her mouth. They had only been together once, but no one had ever known her body as well as Karen did. And she knew that no one who would come along in the future would know her body as well as Karen did. How could they? Karen knew _exactly_ where to go. Karen didn't stop until she was spent. Karen made her wet with just the thought of her touch, of her tongue. She never had that with anyone else.

So why should she have to deprive herself?

It was more than just a physical connection, though; that's what made this so scary to think about sometimes. All Grace wanted was someone who could send that charge through her when they touched her skin (she could feel it whenever Karen brushed against her). Someone who knew when to drop the act (she thought about last year, about those moments in the elevator before...well, _before)._ Someone who could talk her down when she needed it (that design showcase back in '99). Someone who trusted her enough to let her in, who felt comfortable confiding in her (the night after that first visit with Stan in prison, this past Thanksgiving after Stan told Karen she could cheat on him if she wanted). Someone who could make her laugh, who could surprise her, who could be her constant (always, always, always). Grace thought about it so much-thought about _her_ so much-that the answer became so obvious and unavoidable. She already had that person. She's had that person for four years.

She couldn't believe it ended up being Karen. But was that really so bad?

Well. It _was_ Karen. There was always the distinct chance of everything blowing up in her face.

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn't care if it did.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized it was her turn to make a move.

With a fortifying sigh, she picked up the phone on her nightstand and dialed the one number she knew wouldn't be picked up by any one of the dark haired woman's staff. She didn't even want to think about what she'd do if she dialed the manse and Rosario answered, if she asked her why she was calling; _I'm sorry, could you get your boss for me? I've been thinking about the last time she fucked me, and I'd really like for that to happen again._ She got out of bed and paced around her room as the ring tried to beckon Karen, freezing as it abruptly stopped. "Karen Walker's panties," the voice on the other end greeted brightly.

Grace tripped over her resolve at the sound of that, her mind going directly where the dark haired woman wanted her caller to go. Karen was not going to make this easy. But what the hell did she expect when she called the garter phone? "Karen?" she finally managed.

"Gracie?" The happy surprise that wrapped around her nickname made her heart swell.

"Yeah, um…I..." God, why was this so hard? Just tell her what you want, Grace. "Look, I know tomorrow's your day off...but if you were around in the evening, I thought maybe you could swing by the office for...you know...a little Christmas party?"

She couldn't tell if the silence on Karen's end was a game or not. Wasn't it the dark haired woman's fault that she was calling in the first place? Karen wanted the party. Karen wanted to have a little fun. Karen didn't mind all of the things that suggestion brought up between them. What the hell was taking her so long?

Okay, Grace wanted it too. And okay, Grace was starting to embrace all of the things that suggestion brought up. And _okay,_ maybe the silence on Karen's end wasn't as long as she was making it out to be. But still.

"Well, sure, honey," Karen said after what felt like an eternity. "I'd love that." Grace tried to bite back the grin that came with her response and found that she couldn't do it.

It was a response that made it impossible to concentrate on work the next day. It didn't matter that Karen was nowhere near the office; Grace was still absently dragging her pencil along her sketchpad when she was supposed to be drafting a design, letting her mind wander every time she happened to glance over at Karen's empty desk. By lunch, she looked at the gigantic pile of nothing she got done and thanked god all her deadlines were still days and weeks away. At the first hint of a sunset, she gave up on work altogether and started preparing for the party.

She grabbed last year's lights from their dark corner of the swatch room. They were tangled beyond belief, likely the result of Grace stashing them away in a rush to get rid of any evidence of that night, but the redhead was grateful to have something to occupy her hands with for the time being. Once she undid the last of the knots, she strung the lights around the windows and desks before plugging them in. The tabletop tree she found was sitting on her unusually clean workspace (she _really_ needed something to do with her hands). She reached for the plastic bag under her desk and pulled out the only bottle of liquor she brought with her for tonight. She knew she ran the risk of Karen fussing over the lack of variety. But she knew it was worth it, if it got her point across.

Her heart picked up its pace when she set the brand new bottle of tequila on Karen's desk and waited for the dark haired woman to arrive.

Not long after she started to regain control of her nerves, she heard the click of Karen's heels outside the door. She took a breath and tried to find something to make it look like she hadn't been waiting for the dark haired woman, cursing herself for making her workspace a little too clean. "Look at that." She startled at the sound of Karen's voice even though she knew it was coming, and turned around to face her assistant clutching a shopping bag in her hand as she shrugged off her coat. She watched Karen as she took in her surroundings. "It's all lit up," Karen said with a smile in her voice.

Grace wanted to say something-anything-in response, but couldn't find the words. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about tonight, and now that it was here, she froze. She couldn't remember the things she wanted to say, the way she wanted to ease into everything. Her jumbled mess of a mind was hell bent on making tonight just as awkward as the last few days had been, and she hated it.

Karen started wringing the handles of her shopping bag in the silence. "Grace, honey…" she started, a look of sincerity in her eyes that took Grace by surprise. She hadn't looked to her desk yet, and Grace wished that she would just shift her gaze already. "I appreciate you doing this, but I didn't mean to guilt you into it."

The redhead furrowed her brow. "What? No, that's not what this is." That was it. That broke through. "Karen...I think if you _really_ take a look at the office, you'll figure it out." Grace let her eyes wander to Karen's desk in the hopes that the dark haired woman would follow their path. Karen looked around the office, saw the shine of the Christmas lights bouncing from the windows, that tiny tree sitting front and center on a suspiciously clean desk. Finally, her gaze landed on her desk, taking in the bottle that sat on top of it, her brow arched in disbelief. She dropped her bag and walked over to her workspace, picking up the tequila and holding it in her hands for a moment before locking her eyes with Grace's. She took a breath to speak.

"Look," Grace murmured before the dark haired woman could get a word in, hearing a hint of a crack in her voice that she hoped wasn't noticeable. "I'm sorry I've been weird these last few days. That trip to Barneys made me get inside my head too much. But I've been thinking...about what happened last year, about the way we treat each other. About you. I don't really know what this is between us." She motioned back and forth between the two of them. "I just know that I want to find out."

Karen smirked. "You sure that's your head talking and not something else?" she joked.

The redhead's eyes lit up. "Well...it's not like _that_ wasn't part of it." The wink in her voice filled the dark haired woman.

Karen put the bottle back down on her desk and moved towards Grace. She slipped her hand into the redhead's to see if she would flinch, and sighed in relief when she didn't. "Gracie, I want to find out, too. But that day at Barneys," she said, her lips close to Grace's, "it wasn't meant to push you into this, either."

"I'm not being pushed," Grace whispered, the words dancing along Karen's skin. "I'm diving in."

Karen wrapped her arms around Grace's waist, pulling her in closer before their lips collided, her kiss going deeper and deeper every time she heard Grace sigh. She could feel Grace melt into her body, the redhead's tongue brushing against her own in a sensation she didn't realize she missed so much. She could feel fingers crawling up her back in search of the zipper to her dress and nearly gave in to Grace's touch until she remembered why she dragged that shopping back all the way from Park Avenue in the first place. She had wanted a sign that would make it okay, that would tell her to go for it. This was it.

She knew it was time.

"Wait, wait, wait, honey, wait." Karen pulled away, nearly breathless, finding a disappointed confusion in the redhead's eyes. She smiled in reassurance and watched as Grace's eyes became more trusting of her motives. "I want to give you your Christmas present first." She saw Grace arch her brow in intrigue and it made her smile turn into a full-blown grin. "But you have to take a seat and close your eyes." She rushed over to her desk for the shopping bag, turned around to make sure Grace was following her instructions. She saw a beaming redhead pull the chair from her desk to the middle of the office, staring expectantly at her. "Grace, come on! Close your eyes!" Grace made a big show of sighing and rolling her eyes to make Karen laugh before following the dark haired woman's orders. Once she knew she couldn't be seen, she grabbed the bag and made her way into the bathroom to change, just in case Grace couldn't fight the urge to peek.

"Now, I didn't have a lot of time to throw something together," she called out from the bathroom as she raced to get ready, "but I think I did okay. It may not be Barneys window worthy, but it sure gets the job done."

"Well, do I get to see it or not?" Grace called back. What the hell did "Barneys window worthy" have to do with anything? And where the hell did Karen go that she sounded so far away?

"In a minute!" Karen looked in the mirror to give herself a once-over and made a couple of last-second adjustments before she was satisfied. With a grin, she made her way back into the office and saw the redhead with her hands in her lap, eyes closed just like Karen had asked. The dark haired woman positioned herself across the room from Grace, let her grin settle into a sly half smile, and threw a little last minute hope that this would go over well out into the universe.

"Alright, honey. Open your eyes."

Grace took a breath and let her eyes flutter open, so thankful that Karen made her sit down before the reveal. "Holy shit," she exhaled, her mind scrambling for words that weren't there. Karen was standing in front of her looking like Mrs. Claus took a side gig as a dominatrix: red patent leather thigh highs paired with the shortest dress she had ever seen on the dark haired woman, belt cinched around her waist so perfectly, the fur trim along the scarlet fabric highlighting all the reasons Grace had trouble concentrating at work (it wasn't like she had had an easy time keeping her eyes away from Karen's breasts before, but good _god)._ She had a Santa hat placed on her head just so, and Grace couldn't believe it looked _this_ sexy on her.

And then Grace's eyes traveled to the sleek black whip curled up in Karen's hand.

Oh. _Oh._ That was intriguing. She liked that.

"Jack wanted me to wear this in his window, and he let me keep it after his idea bombed," Karen explained, snapping the redhead back into reality. "Which is only fair, seeing as how I paid for it."

"I…" Come on, Grace. Say something. "I think Jack's a fucking genius."

Karen's laugh filled the office as she moved towards Grace, straddling her as she sat glued to her seat. "It's probably better that his boss didn't think so. This way, it's just for you." She took the Santa hat off of her head and slipped it onto Grace's. The way Grace sighed as her hands traveled the length of Karen's boots made Karen's heart skip a beat.

The redhead kept her eyes trained on the dark haired woman, wanting so badly to just take the woman on top of her and destroy every piece of fabric keeping her from the bareness of Karen. Instead, she tried her best to hold out. "Look at you, trying to stuff this mane of mine into a Santa hat," she smirked, trying to hide the fact that she was hoping to god Karen would remember.

"Yeah, well...go easy on the carols, honey. I've heard your singing voice." The smile playing across her lips made her eyes shine.

"Karen, if this is a game…"

"Shhhh…" Karen set the whip down across her lap and took Grace's face in her hands, plunging her lips into the redhead's. The fur trim of her sleeves brushed against Grace's skin, sending an extra jolt through Grace that she couldn't have possibly braced herself for. When they pulled away, Karen looked Grace square in the eye. "I'm not playing around."

"Neither am I." Grace swept a lock of Karen's hair behind her ear and let her touch linger on her cheek. She felt Karen's arms wrap loosely around her shoulders and nearly lost herself in the warmth enveloping her. "By the way," she murmured. "I know you like to think you're testing my boundaries. But the truth is, you haven't found them yet." She brushed her lips against Karen's as a dare, knowing the dark haired woman could never back down from one. "So let's do some exploring." She took the whip into her hands, stopping for a moment to feel the thrill she got from weight of it before she held it out to her side. With a half smile she hoped was as disarming as Karen's always was, she gave the whip a little crack, not wanting to underestimate its power, feeling the most exhilarating rush when she did it. She could feel Karen's nails scratching at her back and watched the dark haired woman arch herself in response and knew that Karen felt the rush too.

Good lord, did Karen ever feel it. Her body gave itself to the shivers running up and down her spine at the sound of the whip, stunned that Grace was the one who had it in her hand. She remembered the way Grace unleashed herself last year, throwing away every inhibition while they were in the moment, but she still couldn't believe that this was the same woman. What happened to the nervous redhead that froze at the very thought of another office Christmas party? The one who could barely get her words out over the last few days? This version of Grace was incredible; she only wished she knew how much of this, if any, was for show.

Karen was tempted to let Grace experiment with the whip; lord knew she liked to play as much as the next person. But she knew how long it took for them to get here. She knew how long it had been since they were together like this. And she couldn't simply forget what it took for Grace to dive in. Far be it from her to deny the redhead a good time-and she knew they would have a good time this way. But she just wanted to ease Grace in. She just didn't want to act like tonight was all they had, because she knew it wasn't.

She just didn't want Grace to regret it.

"Easy there, honey," she said, her voice growing huskier as she slipped the whip from the redhead's grasp into hers and dropped it to the ground. "Not all at once." She saw the perplexed look on Grace's face as she stroked the red locks spilling from the Santa hat. "We have all the time in the world to work our way up to that."

A smile started to curl along Grace's lips. "We do?"

"Of course we do. I'm sure as hell not going anywhere. Are you?"

The redhead shook her head, reveling in the light that radiated off of Karen. "So we work our way up to that," she said in a deceptively soft tone. "I'll keep that in mind for next time."

Karen bit down on her lower lip to contain her grin. "There's going to be a next time." A statement, not a question. And god, what a statement. "But that doesn't mean everything's off the table tonight." She leaned in and pressed a kiss to Grace's cheek. "Merry Christmas, Gracie," she whispered into Grace's ear before she dipped her tongue into it.

Grace felt herself starting to dissolve for the dark haired woman right then and there. She knew she could no longer keep herself from letting her hands ride Karen's curves, from inviting Karen to travel her own body. In one swift motion, she locked her arms around Karen and got up from her seat, carrying Karen to her desk as she took a minute to thank herself for clearing the workspace after all. Karen lay back as Grace hovered above her, pulling the redhead down to her lips by the ball of the Santa hat. She slid the hat off Grace's head and tossed it across the room as Grace started planting kisses along every inch of Karen's skin that she could. The redhead sat back on her haunches as she slipped Karen's boots off one by one and pitched them, knocking the tabletop tree to the floor in the process, too focused on the dark haired woman to care. And as she slid her hand underneath Karen's skirt, she realized there was one more surprise waiting for her.

Because when she slid her hand underneath Karen's skirt, her fingers brushed against a garter.

"I seem to recall you really liked that part last time," Karen quipped. Grace hovered over her again, moving her way up the desk until she could lock her eyes with Karen's. She studied the dark haired woman in delighted disbelief.

"I can't believe you remember that," she murmured.

"How could I ever forget anything about that night?" Karen whispered back.

The redhead looked down at Karen looking so intently up at her. She felt Karen's touch gently graze her forearm. She felt a spark, the same one she felt a year ago, the same one she hoped to feel a million times over. She felt Karen lead her hands to her dress, so ready to be free of the fabric that bound her.

And Grace knew she was safe to dive in.


End file.
